Endangered
by The Magic Pocket Turtle
Summary: In Pokemon Red and Blue, Pikachu were wild in the forest. By the time Ruby and Sapphire came along, they were confined to Safaris. What happened? Or, after Red's victory at the Pokemon League, the Pikachu is hunted nearly to extinction. Based on games


**Author's Note:** Well, it's not my best work, but, it's not my worst either. I'm afraid the concept belongs to Meaghan, so this story is for her. (She let (made) me use it.) So... yeah. I can't think of anything more to add to this, so I'm just posting it. Enjoy. (Also, I hate the way I wrote the ending with a flaming, burning passion, but can't find a way to fix it. Suggestions?

Edit: Fixed some spelling and grammar.

People were a fickle sort.

Three years ago, Pikachu were a problem. Pests. Yellow rodents with a temperamental disposition, prone to gnawing your wires and causing power outages in Viridian and Pewter city. They were not quite as common or bland as Pidgey or Rattata, but they weren't unheard of, and it wasn't uncommon for someone to call animal control or even an exterminator to take care of them.

And then he came.

Tearing through the gyms, the leagues, his yellow rat at his side, (he was never seen without it) he beat the League in record time and then vanished without a trace. There were rumors that he was hiding out in Mt. Silver, but they had never been confirmed.

Nonetheless, Pikachu was the new Eevee. Suddenly, there was a swarm of trainers prowling around Viridian Forest, hunting down the electric mouse. Hundreds of wannabe masters, tromping through the bushes, flattening the grass, tearing down branches for firewood, shelter, or just so that they could see better. Many were careless- half dead fires were often revived, and it reached a point where the local fire department set aside a squad just to quench the flames.

All in all, the Pikachu became scarce. Trainers redoubled their efforts to earn their yellow trophy. Even the other Pokemon began to suffer. The local bug types all became targets for those who realized that some easy training could be done against these less popular Pokemon. Half-dead Caterpie and Kakuna in their broken shells were easy prey for Pidgey, and the battered Pidgey with their exhausted, sometimes broken wings were no match for a hungry Poochyena. Even those who managed to avoid the trainers found little food to eat- the flattened and uprooted bushes left next to nothing in the way of nutrition.

It was Professor Oak who finally stepped in. He hadn't visited Viridian Forest in years, but what he saw horrified him.

The first thing he noticed was the silence. The cooings of Pidgeys, the calls of Caterpie, missing. The Pokemon seemed to have vanished from the forest.

Deeper into the forest, Oak began to regain his old tracking instincts- he was now noticing more than he had when he first entered the forest. There was the vacated shell of a Metapod- not the neatly cracked shell of one who had evolved, but the tattered shreds of one devoured. The bare bones of a Pidgey. The half squashed, half nibbled carcass of a Weedle. All in all, not uncommon.

And not a Pikachu in sight. Nor, for that matter, any of the Pokemon Viridean forest was so famous for.

But they were there. As he moved deeper into the forest, he bagan to see more of them, enough to assure that their population would survive-maybe. Truthfully, the Professor wasn't too worried about them- there were Caterpie and Weedle everywhere, but Pikachu only lived in this forest. It was three weeks of the patient searching, patient tracking that he had perfected over his years as a Pokemon Professor, before he found one.

It was thin. Pathetically thin, with it's tiny ribcage and all twelve of its ribs, and so very, very small. Stunted, Oak speculated. After tagging the creature, he released it back to the wild.

It took a month of planning, a month of arrangements and schedules, and a month of the old Professor's nagging persistence before the first shipment arrived. He hadn't been to Fuchsia City in awhile either. He shook his head- Perhaps his assistants were right in informing him about his never leaving the lab.

He was greeted by a smart salute from two of the Safari's wardens- a young lady and an older man.

"So, this is them?"

"Yes. I'm afraid they're a bit shaken, but I'm sure they'll be fine once they adjust."

The younger girl peered into the cages. "Oooooh," she pouted. "They look so sad."

"Don't touch-"

The Professor's warning came too late as the girl was quickly electrocuted. Stumbling back, shelanded on the ground, a bit frazzled and surprised. The older man shook his head. "Interns." he muttered.

A month of wrangling had netted them approximately thirty half starved, cavern-eyed Pikachu. Armed with rubber gloves, the two Safari employees lifted the cage and carried it into the Safari Zone. Constant shifting and the Pokemons' attempts to shock their captors made the task far more difficult than it had to be. In the end, the three opened the cage within the park and beat a hasty retreat. If there was one thing the two veterans had learned in their time, it was that you did not mess with frightened Pokemon.

"And you're sure they'll be all right? You'll monitor them?"

"Trust me Professor, they'll be fine." The man nodded. "You know, I've been working here for twenty years- Never once did I think we'd be importing _Pikachu _to the Safari."

"Yes. But I'm afraid it's the best place for them- there are so few now. At least here we can watch over their growth and be certain that they'll recover."

"Aye. 'Twould be a sad world indeed without Pikachu in it."

The two men silently watched the cage from the vantage point they'd retreated to. Only now were the Pikachu beginning to poke their noses out from the safety of imprisonment. They slowly wandered out in large clumps, sticking close together as they sniffed the ground. It wasn't long before they found the berry trees- they had been released near them on purpose.

Food was always plentiful in the Safari Zone. What didn't grow locally on the bushes could be found in strategically placed bins across the park. Pokemon hunting was strictly monitered, so that a trainer would only be able to capture so many of a certain type. Amidst all the other Pokemon in the Safari Zone, it was unlikely that anyone would find a Pikachu soon, and the wardens had already agreed not to advertize their arrival. The plan, for now, was solid. Silently, Professor Oak prayed that they would thrive.


End file.
